1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to dielectric ceramics for use in a microwave device, a microwave dielectric ceramic resonator, and a method of making a microwave dielectric ceramics resonator, more particularly, to dielectric ceramics for use in a microwave device and a microwave dielectric ceramic resonator operating in a microwave band in a frequency range from about 1 GHz, and a method of making a microwave dielectric ceramic resonator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, demand for miniaturization of equipment has arisen along with development of mobile telecommunication devices such as automobile telephones and portable telephones, and along with development of satellite broadcasting system. For this purpose, miniaturization of individual parts which form this equipment is required. For example, lamination of dielectric layers has been suggested in devices such as band-pass filters, resonators and antenna combiners or the like each of which uses dielectric materials.
Generally speaking, the size of devices made of a dielectric material is inversely proportional to a square root of its effective dielectric constant when the same resonance mode is utilized. Therefore, in order to manufacture smaller-sized devices, it is necessary to use a dielectric material having a higher relative dielectric constant. In characteristics other than the aforementioned ones, there are required in the dielectric material (a) a lower loss in the microwave band and (b) a smaller change rate of the resonance frequency in the temperature.
On the other hand, when an electrical conductor is used in a high frequency band such as the microwave band, it is necessary to use as the conductor, Cu, Ag, Au or any of their alloys in order to make its electric conductivity higher. Accordingly, the dielectric material used in any lamination type microwave device using such a conductor must be finely sintered so as to be fine ceramics under firing conditions which do not allow melting nor oxidation of the conductor metal. In other words, when Cu is used as electrodes at such a low temperature as below 1000.degree. C., it is necessary to fire the dielectric material under a low partial pressure of oxygen.
Conventionally, however, a dielectric material having been used in microwave devices used in the microwave band such as Ba(Mg.sub.1/3 Ta.sub.2/3)O.sub.3, Ba(Za.sub.1/3 Ta.sub.1/3)O.sub.3, or the like requires such a relatively high firing temperature as above 1300.degree. C. The dielectric material can not be fired simultaneously with an electrode of Cu, Ag, Au, or the like. Conversely, since each of dielectric materials having a relatively low firing temperature utilized for substrates or the like has a relative dielectric constant as small as less than 10, it is difficult to use it as small-sized lamination type devices.
Further, dielectric ceramics of Bi.sub.2 O.sub.3 -Nb.sub.2 O.sub.5 series are known to those skilled in the art as capacitor materials for temperature compensation (for example, See the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 62-012002). These dielectric ceramics require firing temperatures higher than 1000.degree. C. Therefore, their application in the microwave band range has not been studied.